June 5, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: Despite every terrible thing that is going on here on Earth, SpaceX Crew Dragon delivered astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the international space station. Expedition 63 is kicking off with the accompaniment of another NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts. I’m not 100% how easy it is for everyone to get along so well in space and so poorly in person, but I think that the fact we’re on the 63rd international meeting of coordination is the definition of hope for a unified world.

Looking ahead: Governor DeSantis has a lot of work to do in the coming weeks. Most of the 191 bills that passed both chambers of our legislature have not yet been sent to the Governor to review. Based on the COVID-19 situation, that is understandable, but there are still a number of items of business that the governor must review.

May 22, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week:The provision of the $2M limit as far as a Safe Harbor from audit on the PPP Loans was a huge step forward in providing certainty to business owners in uncertain times. The IRS and SBA need to finalize their rulings on tax deductions and the Department of Defense needs to drops its request that these monies not be allowable expenses in overhead costs. PPP was supposed to be a lifeline, it needs to not be treated like a payment.

May 8, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: I remember as a kid tracking Hurricane Andrew on my Publix Hurricane Map. You’d get the coordinates and graph the location of the storm. You’d hear on tv the storm might come or might not, but I didn’t interrupt my plans to attend Lollapalooza the day before I went to work the day of Andrew (yes, it was a Sunday). This past year, I was frozen with spaghetti model updates every three hours, answering to managers, employees and my family as our preparations for Hurricane Dorian advanced. The COVID-19 updates feel like spaghetti models coming out all the time.

Looking ahead: I’m a fan of Bayern Munich who plays in the Bundesliga (German Soccer League). Next week, they will join Korean Baseball as some of the few sports available to watch as a distraction from the COVID-19 updates and murder hornet stories. We have a lot of lessons to learn from Asia and Europe as they are ahead of us in the recovery from the onset of the virus. After 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and other tragedies, we looked to sports as both a distraction and sense of normalcy. Dolphins, Heat, Marlins, Panthers and beloved Gators, please save our sanity soon.

April 24, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: This past week I’ve heard from friends who received funds for their business from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and I’ve heard from friends that were shut out and they are hoping for a second round of funding. A few things have jumped out at me, though. There are accusations of large banks prioritizing larger clients and making billions off of loans. I know the processes varied from bank to bank, requiring different levels of documentation and yielding different results. Loaning small business money saves more jobs than corporate donations or individual stimulus checks. I hope they get this right.

Looking ahead: The next great debate is when to “reopen”. Whether it be a beach or a business is where the suggestions vary. Let’s be clear, the potential for exposure to COVID-19 exists regardless of when these various places reopen. There will be more infections. We need to continue to be cautious and prepared. Our business is considered essential, but we sent most of our employees to work remotely before the mandatory closures and we’ll keep them working remotely after things reopen. If things reopen, will you consider staying in an extra day, week or month? It just might benefit you.

April 20, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: What is “allowed” to be talked about in media these days? Clearly, 99% of the coverage is about COVID-19 and various government responses (and commentary positive and negative on those responses), but are we even allowed to talk about anything else? I have several friends that own a nationally recognized engineering firm that published in a trade journal a merger this past week that made their firm even better. Are we allowed to talk about the future when the present is so overwhelming? Personally, I’m happy to hear about anything that imagines a happy future.

Looking ahead: Look at the dolphins in the canals in Venice and now we can see the Himalayas from India – very popular images on social media. Honestly, I really like to think there is a silver lining to this viral cloud, but when it starts getting applied to Florida and the clarity of our canals, there is another cause. We need to thank (or blame) a lack of rain in March for the improved water quality in our canal system because a number of pollutants are pushed by rainfall. March was one of the driest on record, we’ll need some rainfall soon.

April 10, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: This past week, my firm was able to submit an application for a loan authorized under CARES. While I had a week full of anxiety, I read the opinions of my friends on social media, saying Federal monies should be given to individuals and not to “bail out businesses”. 75% of the money in the program we applied for is required to be utilized on payroll. Once those individual checks run out, people will need businesses to come back to for jobs. Let’s make sure that they survive long enough to recover and get America back to being employed!

Looking ahead: No one wants to learn about a positive test result for COVID-19. Not the person who was tested, not their families/friends and certainly not the people they were recently around, including co-workers as applicable. I’ll attest that employers also don’t want to learn about an employee getting a positive test, because of the complexities of Federal Law. One law requires that you inform other potentially impacted employees, while another protects the privacy of the individual, potentially leading to misunderstanding. Employees need to know the limits on what employers can divulge and not let that lead to mistrust.

April 3, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the medical professionals, first responders, grocery store workers, truck drivers and countless others. My profession of engineering, particularly relating to construction, while not directly beneficial to most, is also considered essential. This past week we demonstrated why continuing construction during this time was beneficial. As part of a critical emergency project, we installed a very large pipeline down a typically busy street in a residential neighborhood. Instead of causing a significant traffic issue at afternoon rush hour, we were able to successfully perform our work with very little impact. Please keep us working!

Looking ahead: Small businesses make up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms and 49.2 percent of private-sector employment. The SBA Loan programs created by both the FFCRA and CARES Act are critical for the survival of small business. Promises have been made that these loans will be available as early as April 3rd, but the banks that are required to administer these loans still have not been given the verification requirements or potential exposure to begin originating these loans. The next couple weeks are critical for the Federal Government to finalize these terms and let businesses get back to business.